A Music Primer -- Chapter 3

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It's time to listen again. Click on the clef icon. While the music plays try and follow the notation below. This is the simple, yet beautiful theme from Sebelius's Finlandia. It's in the key of C (for the most part). Note that there are no sharps or flats in the key signature. Every note played is one of the seven notes that make up the scale in the key of C. This entire piece is made up of no more than seven different notes with one exeption. A "g" sharp is play at the point of climax. It occurs on the bass staff. Watch for it and listen for it. Can you hear why I called that point in the music the climax?

Simple tunes -- folk songs, popular music -- rarely stray outside the bounds of their key signatures. Every note played, even if there are multiple insturments and singers, is one of the seven notes of the scale in that key. However, more sophisticated music often incorporates some accidentals to spice things up and add interest. In music terminology an accidental is a note that is outside the key signature. We indicate these notes by placing one of three symbols directly in front of the note. You already know two of the symbols -- the sharp and flat. The third symbol, the natural, is used to momentarily cancel a sharp or flat that is indicated by the key signature. There's a rule about the use of accidentals that you need to remember. An accidental is only good for the one measure in which it occurs and, it effects every instance of that particular note through the rest of the measure. In other words the measure bar acts to cancel any accidental and, it is not necessary to repeat an accidental within a measure. In fact it's necessary to use a natural to cancel an accidental that is no longer desired if that same note occurs within the measure the accidental is applied.

The music by Sebelius here does even more than introduce an accidental. It switches back and forth between keys. Dare I say superior music -- certainly the more interesting music -- takes advantage of both these techniques: use of accidentals and switching keys.

Listen again and follow Sebelius's theme from Finlandia. Notice that it contains six separate phrases, each four measures long and each beginning with a quarter rest. The third phrase is a transition phrase from the key of C to the key of A minor. The fourth phrase establishes the key change with the opening chord and then moves to the climax where, at the end of the fourth phrase the accidental occurs and the music again breaks from it's key. The fifth phrase is the same as the third except at the end. Like the third phrase it is a transition -- this time back to the key of C where the theme must end.

The scale (our irregular pattern) as introduced in the last chapter has relatives so to speak. The scale everyone knows and can sing (do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti, do) is what musicians call the major scale. It's the dominant scale in western music, but there are other scales. Second in importance is the relative minor scale. Each key signature actually represents one of two scales and we don't know which one until we actually hear or play the music. Look again at the piano keyboard. If we start with the white key "c" and play only white keys we get the C major scale. If we start with the white key "a" and play only white keys we get the A minor scale. The key signature is the same for both. Click the icon on the left to hear the C major scale played through two octaves. Click the icon on the right to hear the A minor scale played through two octaves. Every major scale has a relative minor sibling.

There are other scales. There are three variants of the minor scale and there are scales that use less than seven notes. Most notably pentatonic or five note scales. You're going to have to study music more seriously to learn about these. This introduction isn't meant to become a book. The chart above lists all the major / minor scale combinations. Don't let the fact that there are fifteen of them bother you. I told you there was one major scale for each of the twelve notes and that's true. There are seven notes in the C major scale. (Notice how the C major scale is placed in the center of the chart.) Seven notes, seven flats, seven sharps -- seven flats plus seven sharps plus one is fifteen. Now, look at the keyboard, and you will see that the note "c" flat is the same as the note "b." The keys of Cb major and B major are identical -- it's just a notational quirk. Nobody ever writes or plays music in the key of Cb. It exists in theory because it feels good for theories to look complete -- all the holes plugged. The same is true for C# and Db. It could be worse; we could have a key of E# and Fb, but thank heaven sanity prevailed.

It's easy to read a key signature. You only have to memorize two of them, C major and F major. If the key signature has more than one flat, just cover up the last flat and read the letter value of the next flat back. In the key signature with three flats the last flat is "a" flat. Cover it and the next flat back is "e" flat -- this is the key of Eb major or C minor. How do I know it's also C minor? "C" is two letter values below "e." If there are sharps in the key signature, find the letter value of the last sharp and move one letter value forward. In the key signature with three sharps the last sharp is "g" sharp. The next letter after "g" is "a" -- this is the key of A major or F# minor. Why "f" sharp and not just "f?" Look at the key signature -- the "f" is sharp.

To finish this chapter we need to listen again. The different types of scales are a very important element of our music. Of all the arts music has the most direct connection to human emotion. When we're happy we sing and dance. What's a party without music? Where would romance be without music? Music can even help convince young men to go to war and die for old men's money -- that's powerful stuff. The illustration here is one such example. It's a marvelous tune used for evil purpose: La Marseillaise. It's in the key of G major, but two thirds through the verse it switches to the key of D minor. Then triumphantly the refrain explodes back into the key of G major. (Oh the glory of killing! "...the trumpet's marshall sound tarran-tarra! tarran-tarra!")

Here's the first verse and refrain. I've marked where the key changes take place so you can follow along. What I want you to listen for is how the switch to a minor key feels; how the minor key itself feels compared to the major key and, finally how it feels to switch back into the major key.

We attach different emotions to the different types of scales. Professional musicians are well aware of this. Here's another example just about everyone should recognize: In John Williams music for the film Star Wars (the first one, which technically is the 3rd one) Darth Vader's theme is in a minor key; Luke is a major key. Vader's theme is meancing, foreboding, even frightening. The minor key supports those emotions. In Luke's theme a major key conveys his heroism and nobility. Click on the two clefs to here each. Then it's time for lesson number one.